It doesn’t take much to really impress a two year old. I picked up Rae a coloring book on sale and decided to get her a pack of colors to go with it. I spent less than $1 for both items.

She has had more fun with the colors. First she took them all out of the box. We then placed them in a plastic bowl so they would be easy for her to grab and get to. For the past two days she has pranced around saying "colors" with at least one crayon in her hand.

I thought she would enjoy coloring with them but didn’t realize just how much time she would actually spend using them. A 24 pack of crayons was 12 cents. It’s been worth every penny.

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We have old windows in our home. It’s been such nice weather lately that I like to open them to let in the fresh air. The windows won’t stay up, so I have to prop them open. Usually I use a book to do this.

Well, today I made the mistake of using one of Rae’s books. Wouldn’t you know it that she became fixated on it and wasn’t satisfied until she had pulled it from under the window. The window, ofcourse, fell on her arm. I rushed to remove it. I think there will be a nasty bruise but at least there is no torn skin.

I gave her some infant motrin and put some Benadryl cream on the arm. Not sure that will do any good, but it makes me feel better doing at least something for her.

So my mommy lesson is learned for today. No more using her books to prop open windows, and use two support objects to prop the window open. That way if she does grab one, the other will hopefully keep the window from falling.

Today I was picking up a few things for Rae’s Easter basket. I’ve been debating about whether to buy the plastic grass. I bought some last year and while it looks pretty in the basket, the plastic grass can be a pain to get rid of. Even after dumping the grass into the trash, weeks later I would find a rogue strand lying around.

As I’m looking at all the Easter decorations, I noticed a thing called SizzlePak. Since it was only about 20 cent more than the plastic grass, I bought it. SizzlePak packaging material that comes in a lot of colors. The pack I bought has pink and yellow. It is paper folded accordian-style and cut into thin strips. It’s really neat, and I think I will be able to use it beyond Easter.

Because it is paper, SizzlePak will be much easier to manage than the plastic grass that’s for sure.

Spring is here, and the little ones will be spending much more time outside. Chances are you will buy at least one blowing bubbles container. It never fails with little kids that soon that soapy mixture will be spilled. Now you can go buy more, or you can even buy a gallon bubble refill. A cheaper alterative is to mix up your own bubble concoction.

Use one part dishwashing liquid to about 8 parts water. Voila! You have your own bubble blowing refill. It’s a lot cheaper than buying it from the store, which will mean less frustration when kids spill it all over the place. Well, if they spill it outside that is.

We couldn’t wait for our baby to walk. Now she is on the move and into everything. She loves to open the cabinets and either empty them or put toys in there. My husband installed safety latches that do a good job of keeping her out of the cabinets.

She can open them about two inches but no further. She doesn’t seem to get frustrated. Today she tried to slide something into the open crack, but it just landed on the floor. She left it there. I guess she will come back to it when she is ready.

My sister-in-law mentioned that she was given the advice of emptying her bottom cabinets of pots and pans when she had a toddler. She use to put her can goods on the bottom shelves. This turned into a problem as my nephew loved to peel the labels off of cans. So, they had a lot of mystery vegetables for dinner.

If you have a toddler and keep your groceries on lower shelves, take a sharpie and mark your cans. This way if the labels do get peeled off, at least you know what is in each can.

Cradle cap is something that we’ve been battling ever since Raegan was born. No matter what I’ve tried or done cradle cap has been a persistent problem that there seemed to be no solution.

I have tried the special cradle cap treatment with very little success. All it does is make her hair look oily and dirty. After washing her hair, combing seems to help remove some of the cradle cap but also removes some of her hair in the process.

I had heard from a friend that her pediatrician recommended Head and Shoulders to get rid of cradle cap. It makes sense since cradle cap is just a form of dandruff. I tried it on Raegan, and it worked wonders. All the cradle cap is now gone. Her scalp looks great.

Just remember when using Head and Shoulders on a toddler is that the shampoo is different than baby shampoo. Be sure to keep it out of baby’s eyes. If you have a bath visor to help keep water away from your baby’s face, use it. I rinsed very carefully using a washcloth and my hand to shelter her face. It worked somewhat well. A little did get into her eyes, but it wasn’t very much. When using shampoo, go ahead and lather it in your hand then apply to the hair. It is easier to rinse and little residue will be left in hair.

I’ve been slowly decluttering our home. It’s a slow process as I’m trying to take my time and actually get rid of stuff instead of shuffling it to another room. Each day I try to hit a new room, thinking about containers that would be useful to have in the room.

Our family room is a game room/TV room/toy room. It have many functions. Plus, we’d like to make it a guest bedroom. That’s a lot to ask from a mediocre sized room.

For the guest bed, we plan to purchase a futon. While it won’t be the most comfortable of sleeping situations, it will fit in the space. It also takes card of seating for watching TV and playing games. For toys, I have been contemplating buying a toy box. In lieu of a toy box, I’m using a wired colored unit. It’s basically a build-your-own-crate system. It’s colorful and holds a lot of toys. I had place a few baskets in the crates to hold small toys.

To mix up the look, I plan on buying some canvas boxes. At Lowe’s, they have 12 inch by 12 inch canvas boxes that come in a variety of colors. The boxes will fit nicely into the crate unit and will not be as heavy or dangerous if Raegan decides to pull the crate off the shelf.

At the reasonable price of $5, the canvas boxes make a really affordable solution to storing toys.

When your toddler becomes mobile, prepare to make some lifestyle changes. I have a habit of dropping my keys by the door. This makes it easy to find them unless the toddler gets a hold of them.

Apparently she grabbed my keys, walked with them, and dropped them off in the kitchen cabinets. I looked everywhere for those keys. I am use to her taking things out of the cabinets, not putting stuff in them. After an hour of looking I had given up.

Well, the little one opens the cabinet, and I spot my keys. I’m so relieved since I had no idea where to look next. This just brings to mind the importance of a second set of keys for the house. A set of keys not necessarily for when you lock yourself out of your car but when you can’t find your primary pair of keys.

When the little one was first born, I had seen mobiles and other toys to use at the diaper changing station of your nursery to keep the baby entertained while you change their diaper. Well, I never had a need for any of that since our baby was always still and didn’t seem to mind so much having her diaper changed. Now that she is mobile, it’s a different story.

It’s hard to get her to stay still long enough to change her diaper. Sometime we tag team when the husband is home, which makes it easier to change her. Now when I get ready to change her diaper, I always round up at least one toy or something to distract her. If I don’t do it beforehand, I’ll never get her changed.

All those cute toys to keep her occupied while changing her diaper that I thought I didn’t need I just didn’t need them yet.

When your little one becomes mobile, it is a whole new world. You will enter uncharted territory. Here is a little advice I can offer of something that I have learned recently. Seasoned parents will be nodding at the computer monitor to this tip.

Check your garbage before taking it to the curb. The garbage is now a big container that is so much fun to throw everything into. We have found the TV remote control, countless toys, and many refrigerator magnets. From now on, you might want to bag anything that makes a mess in the garbage like coffee grounds since you might be digging through it to look for that lost controller or phone. No garbage can is safe at our house. We may have to look into one with a lid and foot pedal.